Numbers Do Not Measure Merit

Test scores are not created equal.

SAT scores are largely perceived as neutral, fair benchmarks for academic ability—how can you get any fairer than a standardized test, right? Actually, research shows that, controlling for socioeconomic factors, SAT results correlate strongly and increasingly with the race of test-takers, which further penalizes students of color who are already at a disadvantage because of structural racism. In 2009, self-identification as Latino or African American became the strongest predictor of SAT test scores (more than family income or parental education), which suggests that race matters as much as, if not more than, class.

A recent study of University of California admissions, which uses holistic review like almost every other selective university, showed that standardized tests predict less than 2 percent of the variance in student performance at UC. This basically means that SAT scores are not the sole factor in predicting what kinds of grades a student will get once they are in college. Statistically, a 100-point increase in SAT score only leads to a 0.13 increase in GPA. Both a student who scored 1400 on their SAT and another who scored 1300 are as likely to receive A- grades their freshman year as C+ grades. All this to say, SAT scores aren’t necessarily accurate markers of academic qualifications.

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